Asbestos has a long and troubled history. People have sought out asbestos for thousands of years. A naturally occurring mineral composed of thin, flexible fibers, asbestos is inherently strong and highly resilient. 

That’s why since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution, asbestos has been used to fortify and reinforce a variety of materials and consumer products. When America began to urbanize in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, manufacturers used asbestos to meet growing demand for inexpensive, durable housing. 

However, physicians and public health officials quickly began to suspect that the mineral’s seemingly miraculous properties belied serious risks. A series of studies commissioned between the 1920s and 1950s indicated that asbestos exposure could cause respiratory distress, inflammation, and potentially life-threatening cancers. Despite growing evidence, the asbestos industry downplayed the dangers of its products. 

The importance of proper asbestos removal

We know today that asbestos is anything but safe. Unfortunately, by the time the federal Environmental Protection Agency began restricting the commercial sale and use of asbestos-containing materials, tens of millions of Americans had already been exposed to the mineral, whether in the workplace or inside their own homes. Although the E.P.A. has ordered the removal of high-risk asbestos from schools and other sensitive structures, most buildings constructed before the 1980s are presumed to be asbestos-affected. 

Proper asbestos Removal requires careful procedures and the right equipment.

Since the federal government has provided limited funding for private homeowners and businesses to remove asbestos from their premises, the process of asbestos abatement remains a slow-moving work-in-progress. While a variety of companies offer paid asbestos abatement services, disposing of asbestos-containing waste can present significant logistical and regulatory challenges: with few landfills authorized to accept asbestos materials, many people are wondering how to remove asbestos hazards from their homes while keeping their loved ones, employees, or communities safe from danger.

Asbestos Remains a Potent Threat in Modern America. 

The E.P.A. banned the manufacture, sale, and import of most asbestos-containing materials in 1989. However, the agency offered limited funding for asbestos abatement services. 

Although it took Washington decades to take action against asbestos, it left most homeowners and private businesses unable to address the asbestos hazards hidden inside bedrooms, daycares, and boardrooms. 

Many old buildings still contain hazardous asbestos products.

While nobody the true extent of asbestos proliferation, unsafe amounts of the mineral could be found inside many common construction materials manufactured before the 1980s, including but not limited to: 

  • Ceiling tiles 
  • Textured paints 
  • Patching compounds
  • Adhesive glues 
  • Wall and roofing insulation
  • Carpet underlays

Following asbestos regulations may not be enough to ensure your building or home is clean of harmful asbestos.

For better and for worse, federal law never instructed anyone to remove common asbestos products from their premises. Some publicly-funded institutions, including schools, are required to create and implement asbestos management plans. But most people have no choice but to take matters into their own hands, either by removing asbestos by themselves or hiring a professional asbestos abatement service.

Addressing Asbestos in Homes 

Asbestos may no longer be sold in the United States, but it remains a critical public safety hazard: some sources estimate that up to 30 million homes contain dangerous amounts of asbestos materials.

The dangers of ignoring asbestos in your home or other building:

Although finding asbestos inside your home may seem frightening, asbestos-based products are not necessarily dangerous. In fact, asbestos is relatively harmless when it is left undisturbed. Oftentimes, attempting to remove asbestos creates a far greater risk than leaving it intact. This is because asbestos poses the greatest risk when it is friable, or easily crumbled. 

Aged but otherwise stable asbestos products could become friable if an untrained person tries to remove them. When asbestos is friable, it can disintegrate into tiny, airborne particles. If these microscopic fibers are inhaled, they could gather inside the lungs, accumulating over time and infiltrating other parts of the respiratory system. 

Reasons to remove asbestos from your home or other property:

However, even if you do not believe that the suspected asbestos in your home is friable or otherwise a health hazard, you should still consider contacting an abatement service for the following reasons:

  • Stable asbestos could degrade if it is damaged in the course of renovation.
  • Asbestos that is not trapped behind walls or underneath floorboards could present a risk to children. 
  • Unmitigated asbestos could be a financial liability, if a homeowner fails to disclose or address potentially hazardous amounts of asbestos before selling a property. 

Since asbestos is incredibly sensitive, any efforts to identify or remove asbestos should only be attempted by a trained professional.

Asbestos Abatement and Disposal: Where Does Asbestos Go When It’s Gone? 

An asbestos abatement service could help you, or your family, address unmitigated asbestos in a home, business, or other property. Asbestos removal professionals typically seek to contain asbestos by:

  • Investigating potential sources of asbestos contamination. 
  • Sending suspected asbestos samples to a laboratory for identification. 
  • Cordoning any asbestos-positive areas. 
  • Taking special measures, such as applying plastic covers to adjacent walls and furniture, to prevent the spread of asbestos particles and dust during abatement. 
  • Spraying special asbestos-controlling liquids, called surfactants, on confirmed asbestos to prevent aerial emissions. 
  • Removing the asbestos material and taking it to an off-location site for disposal. 

Proper handling and disposal of asbestos is usually regulated by law.

However, asbestos abatement goes far beyond simply identifying and removing asbestos from a home. While not every state treats asbestos as a toxic substance, it must still be handled and disposed of with care. The National Emissions Standards for Hazardous Air Pollutants provide some guidance for the proper disposal of asbestos waste. For example, asbestos must be: 

  • Isolated prior to disposal; 
  • Wetted and sealed inside a labeled, leak-tight container; and 

Occasionally, private individuals and asbestos abatement services try to reform or recycle asbestos. Under the right conditions, asbestos can be transformed into non-toxic materials through special heat treatments, chemical applications, and conventional milling and grinding.

Asbestos Abatement and Disposal: Where Shouldn’t Asbestos Go When It’s Gone?

Asbestos should never be: 

  • Burned

Asbestos materials are typically fire-resistant, but they are still combustible. When asbestos products are lit aflame, asbestos-containing debris could disperse into the environment. Many states have civil and criminal penalties for illegally disposing of asbestos waste. In 2012, for instance, a Louisiana man was fined thousands of dollars and sentenced to three years of probation for repeatedly burning large quantities of asbestos shingles near his roof repair business. 

  • Buried

Burying asbestos is not illegal at the federal level, but many states have prohibitions against it. Businesses are typically held to a higher standard than homeowners and could face criminal charges for burying asbestos outside of authorized landfills: in the past, federal prosecutors have filed criminal charges against negligent business owners who tried to skirt the law by burying asbestos in abandoned sites. Similarly, 

  • Discarded

When asbestos is discarded or dumped on public lands or another person’s private property, it may be removed at the taxpayers’ expense. Anyone suspected of dumping asbestos without prior permission could face criminal charges and civil penalties. 

If asbestos is buried, burned, or simply placed into a dumpster, it could further degrade and endanger entire communities. After all: asbestos’s resiliency means that it cannot be treated as ordinary waste. When people negligently dispose of asbestos-containing materials, they create a hazard to people, property, and public safety.

AsbestosClaims.Law

AsbestosClaims.law is your comprehensive resource for all things asbestos. We hope this information helps you.

If you believe that your home was contaminated with asbestos, you could be entitled to significant compensation—money you could use to cover the costs of asbestos removal services, pay for medical treatment, and preemptively protect your physical well-being. 

In addition to legal claims, veterans disability, social security and employment protection like workers compensation, FELA and The Jones Act for maritime workers, there are asbestos trusts that have been set up to compensate those harmed by asbestos without having to file a lawsuit.
If you have any additional questions or concerns related to asbestos, including testing for exposure or how to file a claim, please get in touch by email at [email protected], or call or text us at (833) 4-ASBESTOS (427-2378) or (206) 455-9190.